Lars Finsen wrote:
> R A Brown wrote:
[snip]
>>
>> Yet, IIRC Lennon doesn't say say "..and no religions too", but rather
>> "..no religion too" - singular. I understand this to mean something
>> more abstract than this more narrow use. But I am far from being
>> knowledgeable on matters to do with Lennon and the Beatles.
>
>
> Now we are really getting off-topic.
It was not meant to be. Presumably singulars and plurals have some
significance. I was basically pointing out that I remembered the word as
singular in the song & suggested that perhaps it has a singular or at
least collective meaning. *It was a _linguistic_ observation*.
[snip - because this terra_incognita to me]
> Anyhow if we were to continue this discussion it would have to be off-
> list I assume.
Very little point in doing so. When I wrote "I am far from being
knowledgeable on matters to do with Lennon and the Beatles", that was
typical British understatement. My observations were meant only to be
linguistic.
> BTW - more on-topic - I have some degree of aversion to
> overpunctuation. A sentence as the above is perfectly lucid even
> without commas, isn't it? But any English teacher would add at least
> three, wouldn't he?
Not when I was at school (half a century ago). The fashion then was then
to use commas sparingly. I think my teacher would have like one before
"I assume" but probably no others. I haven't a clue what punctuation
styles are taught now - but I would actually be surprised if the fashion
for sprinkling commas everywhere had returned.
--
Ray
==================================
http://www.carolandray.plus.com
==================================
Entia non sunt multiplicanda
praeter necessitudinem.